George H. Brimhall and his faculty, 1902 Courtesy of HBLL Special Collections

I have always been inspired by the amazing quotes sprinkled throughout the Education in Zion Gallery. The recent general conference reminded me again of the great words of our leaders that uplift us if we pay attention. Quotes from those who have gone before are moving reminders of the sacrifices they have made and what we, as their beneficiaries, need to live up to. The following is a list of some of my favorites.

Inspiring quotes found in the Education in Zion Gallery:

“The surest way to express love for God is by doing good to God’s children.”

— Jesse Knight

“[Brigham Young came to me and told me] that the school being taught by Brother Maeser was accepted in the heavens and was a part of the great plan of life and salvation and that Christ Himself was directing, and had a care over this school.”

— John Taylor

“Precisely as you partake of the Spirit, so will you progress in your studies.”

— Karl G. Maeser

“Keep busy in the face of discouragement.”

— Susan Young Gates

“This church is always only one generation away from extinction. All we would have to do to destroy this work is stop teaching our children for one generation.”

—Jeffrey R. Holland

“You have it in your power to set in motion waves of action, love and kindness that will reach the shores of eternity.”

—Edwin S. Hinckley

Go find more for yourselves! The gallery is full of them to make your everyday brighter.

I really enjoy the videos we have here in the gallery. I especially appreciate the inclusion of contemporary teachers from BYU in our last video “Gathering Strength”. In this video, teachers share meaningful lessons they’ve learned here at BYU or hope the students learn.

Brian Lemon, a chemistry teacher from BYU Idaho, shared the story of Dmitri Mendeleev organizing the periodic table. This story is actually quite moving and it resonated with him and infused his teaching (if you skip to 1:15 in the video, his story is really short).

What impresses me is that Mendeleev was someone without knowledge of the Gospel. He didn’t pray for inspiration. Yet he was still rewarded for his work. This fact adds to the principle that the Lord delivers truth in diverse places, in various ways and we seek that knowledge, wherever it may be found. How exciting it is to think that there have been and are Mendeleev experiences happening around the world!

In 1854, President John Taylor told the Deseret News, “If there is any truth in heaven, earth, or hell, I want to embrace it; I care not what shape it comes in to me, who brings it, or who believes in it; whether it is popular or unpopular, truth, eternal truth, I wish to float in and enjoy.”

I had the chance of attending Beauty and Belief in the Museum of Art. I was indeed overwhelmed by the beauty and touched by the belief. The culture was quite different, yet the heart of it didn’t seem foreign at all.